Just the world through my eyes, in some pictures and some lines

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Remember when I mentioned that I was going to use some photos from my black and white landscape week to print Cyanotypes? Well, I finally have them scanned in a ready for you!

You know I love working with cyanotypes, and it was great being able to work on some more through my class. I mean, I didn’t even have to use my own chemistry, and I got to test out some new papers, so as photo geeky as that may sound, it was super exciting.

While I just shared a few photos before, my theme for this project was “trees”. I looked at them from different angles and tried to show some unusual details and abstractions of a subject I work with all the time. Of course, I used the photo of my favorite tree, because, I just love that tree. I also took a couple close up shots of some cherry blossom trees around my house. They had some weird textures and growths on them that I thought were really interesting when viewed from a very close range. One of these images really makes me think of this crazy movie that we watched in one of my classes, Little Otik, because, you know, art school and crazy movies go hand-in-hand.

As for the process, things were a little different, and took some getting used to. Can I say that I’ve been spoiled by the sun? I’m pretty confident when printing outdoors, and took that confidence with me to class that day. Unfortunately, the light boxes are entirely different as far as developing times, and have a few other quirks. I kind of over exposed one print to the point where you could see the outline of where the lights were in the box…I’m not gonna show you that one, but you can take my word for it 🙂 After I got the hang of it, however, it was pretty amazing. Amazing like…I need to figure out how to build one of these myself so I can print at home on rainy days/at night, amazing. That’s been the only sad thing about this process for me; I’m limited to sunny days, which don’t always come often during the colder months. This is just one more thing for me to get attached to while at school. I guess I better appreciate the things I have access do before they’re gone. It’ll be over sooner than I think!

So with the quirks of getting used to new things, these aren’t quite the best cyanotypes I have ever made. I’m still pleased with them though. It was great having a chance to do this process again, and also great to get out and visit my favorite tree 🙂 Maybe I’ll give them another go over the summer, but for now, enjoy!

So I decided to take a different approach to a favorite subject of mine for this week’s theme — the beach! That’s right! I’m still holding on to the last of the “vacation photos” to work out some of these themes. To be fair, I did take these photos while I was there with the intention to use them for this challenge, it’s just taken me longer than I would have liked to get to them.

Instead of taking the typical rolling landscape, or seascape rather, photos of the beach, I tried to look at different aspects which would usually go unnoticed. While I do walk around in a day dream a lot of the time while on the beach, I also pay attention to the details. For some reason, I don’t usually capture them. I have to say, I do make a serious effort sometimes when out and about to just enjoy where I am, so I intentionally try to not get caught up in taking photos of everything. Maybe that’s why these details have gone “uncaptured” for so long. This particular visit, I just couldn’t pass it up.

It started with me wanting to capture a vertical oriented, bird’s eye view type photo of a wave washing up on shore. I worked on it for a while, trying to get just the right angle. After getting that, since the camera was already out, the day dream phase of that walk on the beach was over, and I started paying closer attention to some things I had noticed earlier.

In Daytona, the beach is surprisingly flat. Maybe that’s because I’m so used to the Ocean City beaches, which due to erosion, have to be rebuilt each year and have a much steeper drop off. So when I’m walking on this amazingly flat beach, I’m always captivated by how far you can walk out in the water and have it still be below your knees, as well as all of the interesting things going on on the beach. There are a lot more shells and sea critters, and like this trip when it’s a little rainy, there are a lot more interesting shapes in the sand. I’m not quite sure what caused all of these patterns, but as I was walking and enjoying the view, I was also taking mental notes of interesting patterns to return to on the way back. I mean, ok, it’s the waves and the crabs doing this, obviously, but I over think things. I try to figure out just how the water could have done whatever it is that I’m looking at. I should probably just enjoy it, and not over analyze.

So, the crabs, bubbles, and gentle waves were causing all kinds of patterns and abstract looking “compositions”. Instead of just focusing on the sea and wider landscape, I decided to zoom in on the little details. I kept the same methodology as my wave picture, and shot nearly everything by looking directly down and zooming in as much as possible. I have to say, this is one case where I wish I was taller. Even though I’m trying to get close up details, I’m a little short, so it’s hard to get a good focus and fight the urge to hunch over. It was fun looking at things from this view, and I saw plenty of interesting patterns along the way. I did have to run off the beach before I was quite finished, since a storm was quickly approaching, so I think I’ll keep working on this, and different views of the beach, on my next visit. Let’s hope that’ll be sooner than later 🙂

So I’m pulling another theme from my alternate list this week, because, ya know, I wanna 🙂 You know I love the chance to talk about all things spring and summer, and since the alternate list has this week’s theme as “seasonal”, I’m all about it!

Going to Florida always gets me a little out of whack weather wise, but I’m happy to report that things have warmed up around here. We may be looking at a cold front for the rest of the month, allegedly, but I’ll take a cooler spring over two feet of snow any day. Even with the chillier than normal temperatures, it’s been warm enough for the world to blossom, and I’ve been happy to enjoy it and capture some springy moments.

First, let me start with a little ode to the cherry blossoms…

baby bumble bee 🙂

They’re always some of my favorites. I wish they would last a little longer, but with the first windy day, they’re gone. I’m happy to have had a sunny day off where I got to wander around a little and snap some photos. It was actually one of those windy days while I was photographing these, so it was a little difficult to capture a clear image. Luckily, I did, and I was also lucky enough to snap a few of the baby bumble bees which were fluttering around the blossoms and fighting the wind. Poor little things — they would be there one second, happily bouncing from flower to flower, and then woosh! A huge gust of wind would come, and they’d be gone. They’re tough though — they made it back 🙂

As for some of the other flavors of spring, you always get the same first visitors; daffodils, hyacinths, and the cute little “weed” flowers, you know, from the weeds that grow in the grass….not that…I’m not talking about that! But while I was on vacation a couple weeks ago, and at the Bok Tower Gardens, I took advantage of the garden part of that visit, and took pictures of the gorgeous things they had in bloom there. It was really a fun place to see, and you should check it out if you’re in the area. According to their website, something is always in bloom, and I wouldn’t doubt it; the weather there is perfect for year-round blooms. While I was there, I’m pretty sure I was fortunate enough to make it during one of their peak bloom season, and among other things, was able to enjoy their Japanese Magnolias, Camellias, and Nun’s Orchids. It was a beautiful walk, and smelled amazing! Even as we were a few minutes away and driving up to the gardens, you could smells the flowers. So while I’m dreaming of warmer weather on this chilly spring night, enjoy these photos of the little promises that warmer weather is right around the corner!